This is a script from my latest YouTube video about Edge and Money in the Bank. The video is available here: https://youtu.be/pXzoudHVvL0
On January 8th 2006 WWE presented New Years Revolution from Albany New York. On this night John Cena defended the WWE championship in a gruelling Elimination chamber match, against several of WWE's toughest challengers. Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and Kane. Carlito and Chris masters were also there. After nearly half an hour of action Cena would prevail, but nobody knew that his night wan't over yet, but first we have to go back to the opening match on the card.
In the first match of the night, Ric Flair would defend the Intercontinental title against Edge which would devolve into chaos. To get back at Lita for getting involved in the match, Ric would apply his trademark Figure Four leg lock, which would enrage Edge. He would take a briefcase, and hit Ric with it twice, bloodying the Nature Boy, but also getting himself disqualified. Edge would continue the assault leaving Flair laying, seeming not to care that he just cost himself a championship. Later in the night in a backstage segment, Edge would tell Lita that he had bigger things on his mind than Flair without explaining what he meant. By the end of the night, we would find out what was on his mind.
As John Cena lay prone in the ring, recovering from his title defence, the familiar music of Vince McMahon played, and the chairman entered. He announced that for the very first time, the winner of the money in the bank briefcase was about to cash in his title shot, and out came Edge.
As the live crowd went crazy, Edge and Lita headed to the ring and nearly two minutes later, we had a new WWE Champion. It had been said previously that the money in the bank briefcase could be cashed in for a title match at any time but this being the first time it was cashed in, nobody expected it to be used in such a way.
For a little background, in 2005 the Money in the bank ladder match is commonly known to be the concept of Chris Jericho and at the time head writer Brian Gerwirtz, who is often known for being the Rocks chosen writer. Jericho has claimed that he intended the match to be a regular part of Wrestlemania, as a way of getting a bunch of talented mid-carders on the show. This started as a six man match, but over the years the match would slowly grow to include as many as 10 wrestlers in 2010. Also in 2010 Money in the Bank would become its own PPV event, with two of the match on a show, one for Raw and another for Smackdown. This event still exists today, but with a a match for the mens and women's divisions.
Over the years since 2006, the briefcase has been cashed in in all manner of ways, but at New Years Revolution Edge set the trend. He won the briefcase at Wrestlemania 21 the previous year, and was coming to the end of the one year time limit that you have to cash in. Looking back it's hard not to think of Edge as a complete main eventer, but in the early 2000's he was constantly coming close but never quite making it. As early as 2002 he was challenging the likes of Brock Lesnar for the WWE title, but in November of that year in a ladder match with Eddie Guerrero, he would sustain a neck injury that would eventually halt his career for an entire year. Edge continued to work for a few months, but in February of 2003 he was written out of storylines and wouldn't be seen again until March of 2004. Upon his return he would feud with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H, but would never win the big one.
Edge's luck was about to change at Wrestlemania 21, where he and five other challengers competed to be the first ever Mr. Money in the Bank. He was of course no stranger to ladder matches having helped to pioneer the tag ladder match with the Hardys at No Mercy 99, the three team ladder match at NO Way Out 2000, then finally TLC at Summerslam 2000. On the May 21st 2001 episode of Smackdown, Edge would also be a part of the first four team TLC match. He was now about to co-pioneer another variation on the ladder match, a six man singles version. His opponents on the night were Christian Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Kane and Shelton Benjamin. While Kane on the surface might have seemed like an odd choice compared to the other five, he had once won a four team TLC match by himself on an episode of Raw in 2002, when his tag team partner the Hurricane couldn't compete. You heard me right, Kane and the Hurricane were a team once... Another notable name in the match was Shelton Benjamin, who arguably stood out the most in the match. At one point he performed a springboard dive from the top rope to halfway up the ladder, as if the floor was lava. Shelton would for the next few Wrestlemania's become known for trying a crazy new move in the Money in the Bank match, similar to Kofi Kingston's miraculous Royal Rumble stunts years later. In the end though, just when it looked like Chris Benoit was going to win, Edge attacked him from behind with a chair, and stole the victory.
Over the next 10 months, Edge would carry the briefcase but not make any suggestions of when he was going to cash in. He would spend the Summer feuding with Matt Hardy, and would be joined by Lita in the process following real life events behind the scenes. I've talked about this situation in a previous video so I'll skim over what happened here. Despite some feeling like Edge should have been punished more, he would win in the feud with Matt, then again in a storyline with Kane, but he still hadn't won the big one, making the events of January 8th 2006 all the more shocking. Just like the Royal Rumble became a way of propelling new stars into the main event scene, Money in the Bank became another opportunity to do that. In one night Edge went from losing in the opener, to being the only thing anyone was talking about on January 9th. Unfortunately for Edge, things didn't quite carry on like this. Because of his racier storylines lately, Edge had begun to refer to himself as the Rated R Superstar, and this was to be put to the test.
On the January 9th Raw, one night after his historic victory Edge promised to celebrate his win by having having an intimate moment with Lita live on Raw in the middle of the ring. This segment would of course be interrupted by John Cena seeking revenge before anything could go too far and thats all the detail you're getting about it here, because I rewatched it to write this and it's just cringe. Maybe part of that is because I know now that both Edge and Lita were very uncomfortable with taking part in the segment. As noted a furious John Cena would attempt to get revenge, and three weeks later he would get that revenge at the Royal Rumble.
After just 21 days as champion, John Cena would win back his title in a rematch. In July of 2006 Edge would find himself WWE champion again, but by September would lose it again to John Cena, this time in a TLC match the match Edge made famous. To some fans these starts and stops rendered the shocking moment at New Years Revolution meaningless given that it was undone so soon. Here's a stat for you, Edge has 4 recognised WWE title reigns, and only one, the second one I mentioned before, lasts longer than 21 days. Note that this is a separate title to the World Heavyweight title, which Edge held on Seven more occasions, all of which being longer reigns than three weeks.
While initially to some fans, me included it might have felt like Edge losing the title after just three weeks was a letdown, consider where Edge is now. He spent many years as the face of the Smackdown brand, often as World Champion. He even retired while holding that title. He is a legit Hall of Famer, and will be remembered not for his short title reigns, but for being the first man to cash in. If you need any more convincing, go and watch Clash at the Castle, and listen to the reception Edge received on that night. Us Brits love a good sing along.
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